The present invention relates to releases for holding and releasing bowstrings, and more particularly, to back tension archery releases.
Conventional archery releases are designed to temporarily hold a bowstring of an archery bow so that an archer can pull on the release and subsequently draw the bowstring with the release. In general, such releases assist an archer in cleanly and consistently releasing the bowstring when the archer shoots an arrow from the bow, and thus increase the accuracy of the archer's shot.
There are a variety of archery releases available. One common release is a strapped trigger release, and another is a back tension release. A strapped trigger release typically includes a release body having a trigger mechanism and one or more moveable jaws joined with the trigger mechanism. The body is joined with a strap that fits around an archer's wrist to securely anchor the release to the archer. The moveable jaws are configured to hold a bowstring of a bow. When activated by the archer's digits, the trigger mechanism moves the moveable jaws to release the bowstring and thereby shoot the bow. Due to ease of use, direct attachment to the archer via the strap (which reduces the likelihood of loss or misplacement of the release) and general reliability, strapped trigger releases are typically the preferred release used by bow hunters in the field.
A back tension release typically includes a release handle, a release head bracket pivotally secured to the handle, and a hook pivotally secured to the release head bracket. The hook is configured to hold the bowstring, and is also adapted to engage a pawl. To operate the release so that it releases a bowstring held in the hook, an archer holds the handle, and concentrates to squeeze together their shoulder blades, or in other words, “tense their back.” Because the archer holds the device in their hand by the handle, tensing of the back muscles moves the hand, and in turn, rotates the release slightly. This slight rotation moves the release enough so that the hook disengages the pawl, and thereby becomes free to move and release the bowstring.
Back tension releases are highly effective at eliminating shot anticipation (which may hinder shot accuracy) because they release the bowstring somewhat unexpectedly. In general, this typically improves shooting form and shot placement and thereby increases the accuracy of an archer using the back tension release. For this reason, such releases are typically preferred by target shooting archers, where accuracy and precision are paramount. Such back tension releases, however, are usually difficult to keep track of due to their small size, and are generally difficult to learn how to use properly, given that their actuation is dependent on controlled contraction of infrequently used back muscles.
Many archers, who are both bow hunters and archery target shooters, switch back and forth from a strapped trigger release while bow hunting, to a back tension release while shooting for extreme accuracy and precision in target archery. Moreover, many bow hunters who have only used a strapped trigger release are usually hesitant to convert to a back tension release for hunting, or for target shooting for that matter, due to the complexities in training their muscles to operate the back tension release.